Mojang chief operating officer Vu Bui told The Guardian he has “no idea” when it might come out, but then hazarded a few guesses.

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“A long time. I’m going to guess three years, but it could be four, probably not two. Three to four years seems to be a reasonable bet,” he said.

Bui spoke about the project a little, saying Mojang was approached by “so many studios” interested in licensing the sandbox for the silver screen, and chose Warner Bros. because it respects the IP. It was important to pick the right partner, because Mojang is determined not to allow the Minecraft movie to set a “canon” approach to the game.

“We don’t want any story that we make, whether it’s a movie or a book, to create some sort of ‘this is the official Minecraft, this is how you play the game’ thing,” Bui said.

“That would discourage all the players who don’t play in that way.

“When coming up with a story, we want to make sure it is just a story within Minecraft, as opposed to the story within Minecraft.”

The executive couldn’t give any details of whether the film will be animated or live action, or any talent attached to the project.

“There really isn’t a clear picture yet of what this is going to be. Once there is, I’m sure we’ll share more,” he said.